From JR Wasilewski:

I’ve always been a fan of the underdog. There is just something special about watching the person or team that no one ever thought would have a chance come out victorious. Everybody always wants to see the ‘stars’ and ‘legends’, but I have always been just as interested to find the new and up and coming.

That’s what this blog is dedicated to.

Sure, if you come to Warped Tour it is not shocking that you’d want to see bands like A Day To Remember, Paramore, The Devil Wears Prada or 3OH!3. I wanted to see all of them, too. Here are a few bands that maybe you haven’t heard of, but consider adding them to your list of ‘bands to see today’ at the VAN’S Warped Tour 2011:

LIONIZE (Tilly’s/AP Stage)
From Maryland, this band is what would happen if Bob Marley and Clutch had a baby and made Otis Reding the kid’s Godfather. Their sound is a perfect blend of riffs and reggae with soulful vocals that will quickly turn any unfamiliar with the band into fans. Its hard to stand out musically these days and there are no other bands i can think of that sound like Lionize. They are one of the tightest bands on this tour and not one to be missed.

LUCERO (Tilly’s/AP Stage)
Hailing from Tennessee, this band is probably the biggest musical stand out on The Warped Tour. The are equal parts punk, country and good old fashioned rock n roll. Their singer, Tim, has the perfect voice. When he rips through their song ‘That Much Further West’, the chills that hit me are strong and are felt throughout the crowd that is gathered before them. This is one band that you should check out even if you don’t get a chance to see them play. You’ll thank me.

BAD RABBITS (Skullcandy Stage)
I have said this in a few blogs and every interview I’ve done so far this summer, but Bad Rabbits, in my opinion, is the best live band on Warped Tour. From Boston, this band is the real deal in so many ways. What do they sound like? Imagine Morris Day and The Time, only better. When you hear these guys, you can’t help but be drawn in and you can’t help but move! It’s funky as hell and their stage show is second to none. You should consider making these guys the number 1 band on your list. You will not be disappointed.

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We plan on having a diverse set of bands featured in our Warped Blog series this summer, but it is with absolute pleasure that we get to have Less Than Jake participate in the series as well. JR Wasilewski from the band is a Contributor for the site, but we think it will be a ton of fun to see what one of the most experienced bands on Warped this summer has to say about the tour in contrast to some of the younger ones. So read up on JR’s welcome blog below and make sure to check back for more in the near future!

From JR Wasilewski

I was digging through my closet before I left for tour, as I always do, in hopes that I might find that one cool tshirt that would be cool for tour. As I flipped through dozen’s of defunct band rags, I came across my ‘Warped Tour Survivor 2001’ shirt. I remember getting it in 2001 and thinking ‘I’m never going to wear this shirt.’

Until 2011.

Here I am. Wearing that shirt. I remember that 2001 tour like it was yesterday: Me First and The Gimme Gimme’s, AFI, The Vandals, The Suicide Machines, The Bouncing Souls…it was a lot of fun. I made a lot of new friends that year and ended up having one of the best times of my life. 

Fast forward to June 2011, here I am once again on The Vans Warped Tour. Is it different? Sort of, but not really. The reason that The Warped Tour has become the amazing event that it has become is because of it’s diversity. There are no other tours in North America that have the diverse line up that this tour has. You can go from metal to folk to hip hop to punk just by walking a lap around the fair grounds. Kevin Lyman has always done a great job of putting together an interesting bill of musical acts that helps keep The Warped Tour fresh. It always comes under some fire, but let’s be honest. Where else can you see this amount of bands for the price? Even the most hating of the haters end up coming to Warped when it comes to town. 

Looking out the window and seeing the trailer park of busses that are in front of me always sort of makes me laugh. Yeah, these are tour busses and there are bands on each of them, but we are all the same out here. We all park in the dust parking lot. We all set up our tents and chairs and talk about how hot today is vests yesterday. We all go to catering, we all try to find a clean port o potty and we all want everyone here to know about our band.

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